Author Profile

Burck Smith

Burck Smith is the CEO and founder of StraighterLine. Before launching StraighterLine, he was the founder and CEO of SMARTHINKING, the dominant online tutoring provider for schools and colleges. Burck has worked as an independent consultant with such clients as the Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Computer Curriculum Corporation, the CEO Forum on Education and Technology, the Milken Exchange on Education and Technology, Teaching Matters Inc., Converge Magazine, and others. He has written chapters for two books on education policy for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and is a member of the AEI’s Higher Education Working Group. As a writer about education and technology issues, Burck has been published by Wired Magazine, Wired News, Converge Magazine, University Business and the National School Boards Association. He holds a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. from Williams College.

Articles by Burck Smith

Maximum Education or Maximum Revenue?

Jun 20, 2012 · Burck Smith · No Comments

College officials may favor their own online courses over less costly ones offered by others.

Disrupting College? Lessons from iTunes

Mar 22, 2011 · Burck Smith · No Comments

So far, online education has failed to transform higher education. An entrepreneur explains why.

Recent Articles

The State of Private Higher Ed in North Carolina Jul 15, 2018

Private colleges and universities face challenges distinct from their public counterparts. For one, unlike public institutions, they are not the recipients of generous state funding. Instead, they rely heavily on revenue generated from tuition—as well as on the generous support of donors. Such a reliance on tuition revenue puts private institutions in a vulnerable position—especially … Continue reading “The State of Private Higher Ed in North Carolina”

College Students’ Disability Claims Show Unintended Consequences of ADA Jul 13, 2018

Twentieth-century American sociologist Robert Merton popularized a term that is now a part of our everyday vocabulary. “The Law of Unintended Consequences,” often cited but rarely defined, posits that actions of people—and most especially of government—always have effects that are unanticipated or unintended. Since our government is prolific at enacting sweeping legislation, there are countless … Continue reading “College Students’ Disability Claims Show Unintended Consequences of ADA”

The New Head of the Office for Civil Rights Charts a Very Different Course Jul 11, 2018

Last month, the Senate voted to confirm Kenneth L. Marcus as assistant secretary for civil rights in the Department of Education. The vote was 50-46, with not one Democrat supporting him—a point I will return to presently. In that position, he will head up the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). This is the second … Continue reading “The New Head of the Office for Civil Rights Charts a Very Different Course”